Too Wise
by MargaretRosewell
Summary: After six years of pining after Lily Evans, James Potter has finally sworn off love. His friends don't buy it for a second, but there's a more pressing matter to deal with... Sirius has finally noticed someone other than himself. (Slightly canon divergent. A Shakespeare adaptation experiment. Please don't hate me if I start fiddling with earlier chapters ;-;)
1. My Lady Disdain!

Chapter One:  
My Lady Disdain!

Steam billowed over the platform from the waiting engine, which sat huffing impatiently as it waited for the clock to chime eleven. In between the thick white clouds milled a chaotic, noisy crowd, equal parts excited students and harried parents, all trying to get organised. Struggling through the crowd, clutching a brown leather overnight bag to her chest, Holly was chasing down flashes of bright red hair that kept weaving in and out of view.

"Lily!" She cried over the din. "_Lily!_"

She slipped past a congregation of tiny, uncertain first-years, and then squeezed herself through what appeared to be the entirety of the Hufflepuff Quidditch team. When she finally caught up to her friend, she was standing by the open door of the Prefect's carriage, about to swing inside. But when the pretty redhead saw Holly emerge from the crowd, with her chest heaving and her cheeks flushed, she grinned and stepped back onto the platform.

They swept each other into a tight hug, laughing into each other's hair as they squeezed out two months' worth of missed contact. When they pulled back, Holly gasped and poked her friend in the chest.

"Head Girl? Lily Evans, why didn't you tell me?!" Holly's scolding made Lily blush sheepishly.

"Surprise!" She giggled.

Their reunion was shortly interrupted by the appearance of a bouncy blonde ponytail right underneath their noses.

"Holly! Lily! –oh, you're Head Girl? Congratulations! Have you two seen Sirius? He got _hot_ – well, hotter – and so much taller!" Mary MacDonald gushed. Holly laughed. Mary was a pretty girl with a sweet face made sweeter by the fact it always bore a smile, and Holly had a soft spot for her.

"What about the Wandless Wonder? Is he here yet?" Lily quipped.

Mary's smile faltered slightly. Her eyes flicked back and forth between the two of them almost pleadingly. "I, uh – who?" She finally asked, perplexed.

"She means James," Holly said.

"Oh!" Mary laughed. Her eyebrows knitted together, but her smile remained intact, if a bit concerned. "When did he lose his wand?"

Lily and Holly looked at each other. "I think it's a euphemism, Mary," Holly said kindly.

"Oh, right," Mary said, laughing again, though she didn't quite look like she got the joke. "I guess he's not in your good books yet, Lils," she said.

Lily snorted derisively. "If he were, I think I'd set fire to my library." Mary laughed.

"Oh, hi, James," Holly said, looking over her shoulder.

Lily rolled her eyes. "Very funny, Holly," she said, not turning around.

"Come on, Evans, is that any way to greet your Head Boy?"

Lily stiffened, and then rounded on the offending speaker. James Potter grinned down at her, running a hand through his black hair and accidentally smoothing it out. She opened her mouth as though she had something truly fatal prepared, but then stopped suddenly, stooping to squint at James' chest (which, realistically, was more of a lean because he had grown at least six inches over the summer break).

"It's a good thing, then, Potter, that _your_ badge says Head Butt," Lily said, straightening up. "I would hate to get off on the wrong foot with the new Head Boy." James paled and grabbed at his shirt, twisting it up to try and read the badge.

He frowned. "It doesn't say Head Bu- oh."

Lily smirked. "Made you look," she half-sang.

Remus and Sirius emerged from the billowing mists behind James, and when they joined him Remus exchanged pleasantries with Lily and the other girls while Sirius hung back a bit. Mary elbowed Holly in the ribs, grinning as sneakily as she could manage. "Ow!" Holly hissed at her, which only made Mary giggle, and Mary's giggles were infectious. But Holly was glad of the excuse to not look at Sirius, because Mary was right; he had very much grown into his good looks since she'd seen him last – he was even taller than James, and his ridiculous jawline was shadowed in stubble, and his steel-grey eyes were–

"Come on, look at the time!" Holly exclaimed suddenly. "Mary and I are going to find seats. We'll see you later, Lily!" And she grabbed Mary's arm and pulled her onto the train, desperately hoping her hair was hiding the blush creeping over her cheeks.

Sirius scratched his jaw and turned back to James, Remus, and Lily, a thoughtful expression giving way to his trademark grin. "Last one in has to snog a Slytherin," he called, striding up into the carriage.

Remus left Lily and James to bicker on the platform and followed Sirius onto the train. He caught up to him just as he slid into an empty compartment, and Remus slipped in behind him. The train soon set off with a great lurch and an ear-splitting whine. Sirius cracked a few jokes about the first years sidling past, but after a while he was resigned to staring pensively out the window. Remus didn't mind; he was already starting to doze off, anyway.

About half an hour later they were re-joined by James, this time with Peter in tow. They played a game of exploding snap until the trolley lady sauntered past, at which point Peter decided he wanted some Chocolate Frogs and followed her down the corridor.

With Remus still dozing beside them, Sirius shuffled his cards. "Holly got her hair cut," he said nonchalantly. "Did you notice?"

"Not really," James said, tossing a card onto the pile.

Sirius snickered. "No, I suppose you wouldn't, all companions considered."

James grinned.

"She is pretty, though," Sirius mused, flipping a card onto the pile and slapping his hand down. James scowled as Sirius tugged the pile to him and added it back to his hand.

"I guess so," James conceded. He looked up into Sirius' face and frowned suspiciously. "Come off it." He jabbed his card pile at Sirius accusingly. "Are you kidding me? Are you really going to rob me of the joy of seeing you as an eighty-year-old bachelor?"

Sirius shrugged. "I mean, I don't think I would say no to her," he said, not meeting James' stare. "You know, if it came to it. It's your turn, by the way."

James sighed in exasperation and chucked a card onto the new small pile that had formed. It exploded with a flash of sparks and a mighty _bang_, jolting Remus awake.

"I can't believe it," James moaned.

"Can't believe what?" Remus said hoarsely, rubbing his eyes.

"He's only gone and fallen in _love_, hasn't he?" James cried. Sirius rolled his eyes.

"Really?" Remus grinned. "With who?"

"_Holly_," James spat.

"She's nice," Remus said approvingly. "You could do worse, Padfoot."

Sirius grinned in spite of himself. "Thank you, Moony."

James threw down his card pile, causing a few more to pop spectacularly. "No. I simply can't allow you to throw away your sense like this, Sirius." Sirius snorted with disbelief. "I need to have _someone_ to swear off love with me," James whimpered.

"You're swearing off love?" Remus asked, one eyebrow arched in bewilderment.

James nodded sullenly. "Lily will not have me, so I think it's time," he sighed dramatically. Remus and Sirius glanced at each other, fighting the grins that were tugging at the corners of their mouths.

James leant forward suddenly, his face full of earnest. "Listen to me," he grabbed Sirius' shoulders, "there is absolutely nothing good about love. She will _ruin_ your _life_."

Sirius and Remus couldn't contain themselves any longer and burst out into guffaws of laughter. James sat back and folded his arms indignantly. "It's for your own good," he proclaimed. Tears were streaming from their eyes now at the pure irony of James' words. Sirius was thumping the seat with his fist.

"I will die on this hill!" James declared.

They didn't stop laughing until James had growled at them and left the compartment. Wiping the mirth from their eyes, Remus and Sirius tried to compose themselves. Sirius dragged himself back onto the seat.

Remus cleared his throat. "So," he said, still grinning. "Holly, huh? When did that happen?"

Sirius shrugged, lifting his feet up onto the seat and leaning back against the wall. "I guess I had a lot going on last year, and I didn't really think about it much. But today, on the platform, I just… kind of…" He trailed off, a blush creeping onto his cheeks.

"I can talk to her for you, if you like," Remus offered.

Sirius perked up at this. "Really? I – I mean, unless you think it's too early. Maybe I should wait. Drop some hints or something."

"I never thought I would see you second-guess yourself, Padfoot, but here we are," Remus chuckled, shaking his head. "I'll talk to her. Put in a good word for you. How's that sound?"

Sirius was grinning from ear to ear. "You're the best, Moony."

Peter walked back in with an armful of sweets and a jelly snake lolling out of his mouth. It wasn't long before James walked past their compartment, stopped to nick a Chocolate Frog, huffed, and then kept walking. Sirius' grin stayed plastered to his face for the rest of the journey.


	2. A Winged Man

Chapter Two:  
A Winged Man

At breakfast the next grey morning, Professor Slughorn turned to Professor Dumbledore and said conversationally, "Poor Miss Garland appears to be attracting a bit of attention this morning."

Dumbledore took a sip of his creamy, sweetened tea and glanced over the top of his half-moon spectacles at the Potions professor. "Indeed?"

Slughorn waved his spoon in the direction of the Gryffindor table where Holly sat, flanked by Remus and Lily. "I'll wager," he said, swallowing a mouthful of sticky porridge, "I'll wager you ten galleons that Mr Lupin will confess his love for her before Christmas."

"While I do not think the romances of the young hearts in our charge is any of our business," Dumbledore smiled wryly, "I'll take that action."

* * *

The first week of classes passed in something of an overcast daze. The good weather that had seen in the school year was left shivering in the mud as the mountains were blanketed with relentless rains. It made everybody restless and delayed any solid routine-building the students had hoped to do as many of the outdoor classes had to be held inside.

The rest of September was equally hit-and-miss weather wise, and students had taken to mistrusting sunny skies and sticking to sheltered walkways at all times, as sudden downpours seemed to materialise at the most inopportune times.

Relief came at the end of the month in the form of small gold-trimmed envelopes, addressed in a looping, calligraphic hand to all the best, brightest, and especially well-connected students who had made Professor Slughorn's exclusive list. The buzz the Slug Club invitations had ignited was made exponentially louder once word got out that the party was themed.

"Disguise," Lily announced to their small corner of the common room. She, Holly, and their other roommate Alice, had used their seventh-year status to commandeer the last remaining armchairs by the window. It was Saturday, and properly storming outside, so the common room was full to bursting.

"Like a masquerade?" Holly asked, curled up on the plush red two-seater beside Lily, her Charms textbook open in her lap.

Lily shrugged. "I think so," she said, flipping the invitation over to check the back. It was blank. "The whole idea seems to be to make yourself as unrecognisable as possible. It's a week before Halloween, so I guess that's why it's themed."

"Are you going to transfigure yourself?" Alice asked from where she lay sprawled out on the rug.

Holly sat up eagerly. "Oh, do Lily! You're so talented at that kind of magic."

Lily's eyes lit up with inspiration. "If you come as my plus one, Holly, I'll do a switching spell and we can be each other's disguise," she said.

Holly looked delighted. "Really?" She closed her book and hugged it. "I've never been to a Slug Club party before."

Lily grinned and opened her mouth to speak when Alice cut her off.

"Incoming," she whispered urgently, propping herself up on her elbows.

Lily and Holly looked up just as Sirius Black collapsed onto the couch between them, forcing them apart. Holly quickly shifted her legs out of the way and found herself squished between the cushioned arm and the furnace that was Sirius. He took up so much room it was nearly impossible not to touch him.

"Get your own, Potter," Lily growled, snatching her Slug Club invitation away from James' outstretched hand. He gave her a roguish grin.

"You mean, like this one?" He flashed a small envelope trimmed in gold. If Holly didn't know her any better, she might have said Lily's expression was mildly impressed.

"I'd treasure that, if I were you," Lily said tartly after watching him wave it smugly in her face. "One-of-a-kinds are pretty valuable."

"Your faith in me is staggering, petal," James sighed. Lily cocked an eyebrow dangerously at the new pet name. James visibly recoiled and then laughed it off.

"Are you going to dress up?" Holly asked, straightening up to lean around Sirius. Her long, dark hair was still a bit damp, and the fruity smell of her shampoo accosted Sirius' nostrils when it brushed up against his arm.

"Does he need to?" Lily cut in. "He already looks like a clown." Everyone except James snorted in laughter. He scowled down at Alice, pointing in dismay at Lily.

"Can you believe this, Al? So uncalled for," he shook his head as Alice's face turned plum-purple with the effort of corralling her mirth. "But yes, we're going to dress up," James replied.

"We?" Alice asked, sobering up. "You're taking a date?" They turned to him in surprise.

"Indeed, I am; it's my turn to walk the dog," he said, grinning at Sirius, who barked a laugh and shook his long black hair out of his eyes.

"You look disappointed, Evans," Sirius grinned, waggling his eyebrows at her. She immediately sat up, brimming with indignation.

"I think you mean relieved," she corrected him, flipping her thick red hair over her shoulder. "I'd rather hear the Fat Lady sing than James ask me on another date."

Sirius nodded, unconvinced, and then glanced playfully at Holly, who was trying to hide her spreading grin behind a slender hand.

"Is Remus going too? He went to one last year, if I recall correctly," Lily mused.

"He's said he'll bring Peter, too," Sirius confirmed.

"Oh, great. All four of you are going."

James looked at his watch. "Speaking of," he said, straightening up with a shadow of a grin. "We've got places to be, don't we, Snuffles? C'mon then. C'mere boy," he whistled at Sirius as he made for the portrait hole. When Sirius glared at him and made no move to get up, James crouched forward and patted his knees. "C'mon!"

Sirius flipped him off but hauled his ass out of the chair anyway. "Atta boy!" James cried, ducking to avoid being clipped around the ear by his mate. Sirius threw a grin over his shoulder at the girls as they disappeared into the throng of students. Holly's knee was still burning where Sirius had placed his hand to push himself off the couch.

After they'd been sufficiently swallowed by the crowd, Alice turned to Lily and Holly with her lips pursed in confusion. "What's up with all the dog jokes?"

Lily tore her glare away from the portrait hole they'd just disappeared through to look at Alice, completely deadpan. "My current theory is that James is Sirius' bitch, and they like to do role reversals in public so that Sirius has something to punish later on."

There was a beat of silence as they stared at Lily, quietly processing her words.

Then Holly couldn't help herself: she snorted. She covered her mouth, eyes widening in embarrassment, and the other two burst into peals of laughter.

* * *

Lily spent the next three weeks cornering Holly at random times to practice switching spells in preparation for Slughorn's party. She'd started small, on inanimate things like textbooks and inkpots, but by the time Saturday night rolled around, they'd had matching heterochromia three times, blotchy skin, and spliced hair for a full afternoon. Lily was now confident she could switch just about anything perfectly after her weeks of trial-and-error, and when she stepped back from Holly, she was proved right.

"Wow!" Holly grinned, staring up at her own hazel eyes, perfectly replicated in Lily's porcelain face. The contrast between Lily's fair, freckled complexion and Holly's loose dark brown curls which now fell over her shoulders was stark but pleasant. She turned excitedly to the mirror and found that having big, green, almond-shaped eyes was actually rather disconcerting. She swept a section of thick red hair back from her face, freckle-less and much tanner than Lily's; it wasn't a bad combination, just a strange one, Holly thought.

Lily was beaming with her success. They had decided to keep the switch simple, focussing on their hair and eyes. Set in amongst foreign features, the switch was just bewildering enough to be fun. They pulled on their matching halter-neck dresses and just as they were about to leave for the party, Holly squeaked and ran back to her bed.

"I almost forgot!" she cried, wrenching open a drawer.

"Come on, Holly," Lily hurried her, looking at her wristwatch. Holly bounced back to her feet, straight red hair tumbling down her shoulders. She held up two flowery wreaths in triumph. Lily squinted at them. "What are those?"

"I made us flower crowns! Look," Holly said, setting one with dark, glossy green leaves and red berries on her head. "This one is made of holly, and I made one for you out of lily of the valley."

Lily took the small wreath and inspected it; it had small, white bell-shaped flowers intertwined with pale green vines. She grinned as she put it on and inspected her reflection.

"I couldn't get a hold of any actual lilies," Holly fretted. "I hope you don't mind."

"I love them," Lily said sincerely. "Now let's _go_," and she grabbed Holly's arm and pulled her out of the dormitory.

Despite Lily's pushing, they were some of the first guests to arrive at Slughorn's party. They were welcomed warmly by the potions professor, who was wearing long, magenta robes with tiny little gold suns brocaded on it, paired with a ridiculously long silver beard and a beaming smile.

"What an ingenious costume idea," he praised them, puffing up his chest as he inspected their faces. "Really something, girls."

Lily and Holly shared pleased smiles. "Now, Miss Evans!" He turned to Holly, and she laughed, turning him gently to face Lily instead. "Ah." His face reddened a little, but he just kept smiling. Holly thought he might already have had one too many glasses of port. "Miss Evans, did I tell you?"

"Tell me what, professor?" Lily asked, accepting her fate and a glass of butterbeer from a passing tray. She and Holly locked eyes, and Holly took the chance to slip away.

Holly found her way to a small grazing table made up entirely of sweets, apparently in the spirit of Halloween, and nibbled on a miniature cauldron cake that had a cartoonish ghost outlined in icing sugar on the top. She stayed hovering by the table as the room began to fill, feeling very out of place without Lily by her side. Her costume didn't feel like much of a costume without the other half of it; she just felt like she'd put on a pretty dress and a flower crown.

"Lily!" Whoever kept shouting Lily's name was getting very frustrated. Holly turned around, hoping to maybe help get her friend's attention, when her arm was grabbed and suddenly dropped. Remus stood in front of her, his face the definition of bamboozled. He was wearing a bloodstained toga and a wreath of laurel about his ears, and as she watched he scratched his neck and then recognised her. "Holly?"

She grinned. "Hey, Remus."

"Woah, that is really trippy," he said, looking her over again.

Holly laughed. She felt a lot better about her and Lily's costume now, and less like they needed to cling together for the whole evening for other people to 'get' it. "And you're… Julius Caesar?" She guessed, cocking her head to one side.

Remus repressed a sigh; he, apparently, had just experienced the exact opposite feeling to Holly's. "Actually, I'm Remus."

Holly frowned a little. "I know," she said slowly, "I mean… your costume?"

Remus grimaced. "So do I."

She stared at him harder. Her green eyes raked over the bloodstained toga. She looked back up to his pursed lips and then felt a lightbulb practically explode within her brain. "Oh!" Holly was laughing. "Remus, brother of Romulus? As in, one of the founders of Rome?"

"Yes! I knew other people would get it," Remus said, pumping a fist victoriously. "It was a bone of contention between James and me," he explained in response to Holly's mystified expression. "He said no one would get the reference… but it was basically the easiest costume I could think of. This," he pulled at his toga, "is a bedsheet." Holly had never seen someone usually so sensible grin quite so mischievously before.

"I think it's very clever," she grinned back. "Oh," she said, suddenly remembering. "What did you want Lily for?"

"What? Oh. Actually, I was looking for you, and I was going to ask Lily where you were, but then it _was_ you."

"What a happy coincidence!" Holly laughed. "So why were you seeking me out?"

He grabbed a pumpkin pasty from the sweets spread, then offered her his arm. "Let's go for a walk."

"Sure." Holly smiled and slipped her arm through his.

At the door, heads were being turned by the three newest arrivals. Slughorn paused his riveting conversation with Lily to gawk, and Lily had to drink deeply from her butterbeer to prevent herself from exploding with laughter.

James Potter was wearing a wide, pink silk evening gown, complete with what appeared to be a corset, several petticoats, and a crinoline. He'd painted his face white, his lips hot pink, and had drawn on a chunky black heart just under his left eye. His untameable black hair was engulfed by a tall, powdered wig that wobbled when he walked. With a flourish, he violently flicked open a silk fan and fluttered it incessantly in front of his face.

Just behind him, grinning like a very out of character fool, was Sirius Black, whose hair had been greased until it was limp and stringy, and his nose magically 'enhanced' so that it was now undeniably hooked. He was wearing his school uniform and a green tie that was tied so tight around his throat that it was crinkling the collar of his shirt. On the opposite side of the room, a disguise-less Severus Snape stared at them with his lip curled in the beginnings of a snarl.

Bringing up the rear of the group was Peter, though without the presence of his friends you would be hard done by to recognise him; he wore a jet-black cowl and carried a scythe, and where his face _should_ have been, there was nothing but a void.

"Professor," James said in a very high-pitched voice, bobbing a curtsy and fluttering his fan in front of his nose. Professor Slughorn smiled widely at them as if he'd suddenly realised why he'd never invited Potter to a Slug Club meeting before. "They say imitation is the best form of flattery, but I'm sure Dumbledore never looked so good!"

"I'm not Dumbledore," Slughorn said, his brow creasing. "I'm Merlin." He sounded a little crestfallen as he looked down at his beard and sun-spotted robes.

Lily covered her mouth and took a mental photograph of James' mortified expression before slipping backwards into the crowd in search of Holly.

James made a series of bumbling apologies and then hurried off with Sirius in tow. They spent the next half hour ghosting Severus until Peter recruited James' help over at the buffet.

The fact that Sirius had not only chosen to dress up as Snape, but had done a particularly accurate caricature of him, made the Slytherin seventh-year's blood boil. As he watched the arrogant Gryffindor sidle up to yet another unsuspecting group and drawl out a monotonous string of self-deprecating nonsense, he knew he had to do something.

Snape scowled as the group laughed heartily at Sirius' antics. He glanced about the room, searching for inspiration, when his eyes alighted on the perfect fodder.

Sirius jumped back in mock surprise when Snape appeared at his shoulder. "Are you copying me?" he said in his best nasal drawl.

Snape rolled his eyes. Sirius rolled his eyes. Snape scowled at him. Sirius scowled at Snape. Snape's face started to turn red when he remembered why he'd come over here in the first place.

"I'd be careful, if I were you, Black," Severus drawled lazily, suddenly very conscious of how good an imitation Black's mocking tone had been. "It looks to me like your little wolf-friend is sniffing out a new mate. You might end up friendless after all."

Sirius smirked, but it didn't reach his eyes. He glanced over to where Remus and Holly stood, laughing, secluded in a corner out of the way.

"What a shame it will be to see the _pack_ drawn and quartered," Snape jeered.

Sirius laughed, but there was no mirth in it. "It really is hard to identify friendships when you don't have any yourself, eh, Snivellus?"

Snape's eyes narrowed darkly. "Friends? Well, that certainly explains why they haven't even spoken to another person since they got here. Friends indeed." Snape turned on his heel and strode away.

Sirius' jaw clenched. He stared at Holly and Remus, his stomach flipping as he watched her giggle and place a slender hand on his arm. He wasn't sure what this feeling was, but it had lodged itself in his throat and he did not like it.


	3. Civil as an Orange

Chapter Three:  
Civil as an Orange 

Sirius gritted his teeth and turned his back on Holly and Remus. He stared out into the crowd and felt – not for the first time – like he was the odd one out. He found James' powdered grin amidst the throng of faces and felt his thoughts sink into an ugly, lonely place. Not even James, his brother from another mother, felt like his own here.

He didn't want to give Snape the satisfaction of driving him out of the party, but he couldn't stay here. He scrubbed a hand over his face and straightened up. He sauntered over to the nearest group and sniffed loudly and wetly. His face contorted to look like someone had smeared dragon dung under his nose. He took his act from group to group, leaving laughter in his wake as he made his way to the door.

Snape had been driven off after the second or third group melted into a puddle of giggles. Sirius sneered at the last group and stalked dramatically to the door. "If you'll _excuse_ me," he snarled, "I have to get more grease from the kitchens." Someone was wheezing. He broke character finally and grinned as he closed the door behind him.

As soon as it clicked shut, his smile dropped. He strode away from the faint sounds of revelry into the darkened hallway. He clawed at his too-tight tie, ripping it from his neck. His fingers fumbled at the buttons, and in his frustration he nearly tore those off too. The prospect of having the dormitory shower all to himself was motivation enough to take the stairs two at a time. The novelty of his costume had disintegrated with Snape's taunts, and he wanted nothing more than to scrub himself clean of anything remotely related to that heathen.

He rounded the corner onto the next landing, staring darkly at his shoes as they thumped against the cold stone floor.

"Good evening, Mr Black," a familiar voice said in passing. Sirius jerked his head up and glimpsed a long grey plait out of the corner of his eye.

"Professor Dumbledore," he said, surprised.

Dumbledore stopped and smiled at him, the corners of his eyes crinkling beneath his half-moon spectacles. His long grey hair was braided behind him, and so was his waist-length beard. Instead of being tucked into his belt like usual, it swung freely in front of his powder pink dressing robe, which fell to just below his knees. Sirius glanced at his feet, which sported rainbow shin-high socks and fluffy pink bunny slippers. The exposed skin between the top of his socks and the hem of his robe was covered in hair.

"Fudge Fly?" Dumbledore offered, extending the small packet of sweets he was holding.

"Oh – uh, thank you, sir," Sirius said, taking one from the box and popping it into his mouth.

Dumbledore nodded sagely, popping one into his own mouth and chewing. "I find sweets to be a good remedy for melancholy moods." The elderly headmaster looked at him, eyes twinkling as he recognised Sirius' costume. "On our way to a party?"

"Not really," Sirius shrugged. He ran a hand through his hair out of nervous habit, and instantly regretted it. He wiped his hand on his trousers.

"Ah," Dumbledore nodded. "Perhaps for the best. Professor Slughorn takes his hosting duties very seriously, and I'm sure he would take your current state rather too personally."

Sirius grimaced at the memory of the party. He needed a change of subject. "I like your socks, Professor," he said. Sirius wasn't sure he'd like them on anybody else, or if anybody else could really pull them off with pastel pink bunny slippers.

"Yes, so do I," Dumbledore agreed. "A dear friend sent them to me recently. They're quite comfortable. Good socks are surprisingly hard to come by, you know."

They shared a quiet moment of reflection, before Dumbledore decided to pat Sirius' shoulder on his way past.

"Don't let her keep you down for too long, Mr Black." Sirius blinked in surprise and watched Dumbledore shuffle off around the corner, popping another Fudge Fly into his mouth.

Sirius made it back to his dormitory and had a much-needed hot shower. Several hours later, the rest of the boys returned to the dormitory to find Sirius curled up in bed with his back to them.

"There you are, Padfoot," James cried. Sirius didn't stir. For a moment James thought his best friend was properly asleep, but the curled-up figure was too stiff. He shared a look with Remus, who was halfway into his pyjamas already. "I was wondering where you'd disappeared to." Nothing.

He tried a different approach. "I had no one at the party," James grumbled. "Remus ditched me for Holly _all_ night."

Success. Sirius huffed and turned over. "I know," he said darkly.

Remus and James swapped confused looks. It wasn't easy to pull Sirius out of his moods, and James just wanted to get the gunk off of his face and crash. He decided to leave it until the morning, secretly hoping that if they ignored Sirius' hovering storm cloud long enough it would eventually evaporate.

* * *

The breakfast table the next morning was the perfect Sunday spread. There were plates piled high with eggs all ways, bacon, pastries like Danishes and croissants, toast, porridge, and bagels, as well as pots of coffee and tea, and jugs of juice, and a variety of jams and fruit. Holly poured herself a cup of coffee with cream, and pulled a plateful of croissants towards her. She broke off the end of her flaky pastry and dipped it into her coffee. Her charms textbook lay open beside her at the table and she perused its pages leisurely as she ate.

Professor Slughorn paused by her for a chat on his way to the staff table. They talked for a little about the party last night, and by the time he wandered off to find his seat Holly was feeling very content with her lot.

Slughorn took his seat beside Dumbledore. "Holly is a sweet girl," Dumbledore said, sipping from his teacup. "Did she enjoy the Slug Club party last night?"

"Oh, yes," Slughorn replied happily. Dumbledore nodded thoughtfully.

"You know," Dumbledore continued, "I had a rather strange encounter with Mr Black last night."

Slughorn stiffened. He forced himself to take a bite of his bagel and he gave Dumbledore an innocently curious look as he chewed.

"I believe you owe me ten galleons, Horace."

Slughorn groaned. He'd known it was coming, he just wondered how long he could stall Dumbledore's knowledge of his win. He'd overheard Remus and Holly talking at the party, and _all_ Remus could talk about was how great Sirius was, and it didn't seem like Holly had minded.

Slughorn dug into the pockets of his robes and pulled out his coin purse. Dumbledore held up a hand. "I would like to propose a new wager," he said, his blue eyes twinkling.

"Oh?" Slughorn said, his fingers lingering on the drawstring of his purse.

"Double or nothing," Dumbledore said, and Slughorn raised a bushy eyebrow. "If Mr Black declares his love for Miss Garland by Christmas Day, then I'll give you twenty galleons. If he doesn't, or if he does so after Christmas Day, you will owe me twenty galleons."

Slughorn barely considered it before shaking on it and tucking his coin purse back into the folds of his dark green robes. He already had the beginnings of a plan to rival the matchmaking capabilities of Emma Woodhouse.

* * *

Monday afternoon saw the seventh years in Slughorn's N.E.W.T. level potions class for a double period. From the front of the room Professor Slughorn watched as they split up unsuspectingly and began to take their usual seats.

"Before you get too settled, class," he began, and he saw sixteen seventeen-year-olds eye him suspiciously. "Today we are working in pairs as we revisit poisons and antidotes, so I took the liberty of making a seating chart. You'll find your assigned seats on the blackboard – shouldn't take too long, now –"

The class began to shuffle as the students collected their half-laid-out things and found their assigned seats. No one appreciated their assigned spot less than James Potter, who turned to his current desk mate, Remus, who was obediently collecting his belongings in order to move. "Moony," he hissed. "Moony, no – don't leave me."

"You say that like I want to," Remus said, shaking his head.

"Moony – please – he's put me next to _Lily_ –"

Remus grinned. "I saw."

James lunged at his friend's sleeve. Remus snatched his robe away from him before he could get a decent grip on the fabric.

"Help me, damn you!"

"Merlin's saggy pants," Remus breathed. "You can't _possibly_ be worried, now, can you Prongs?"

James' face paled. He'd spent a good chunk of energy avoiding Lily in lieu of his anti-romance proclamations, but in spite of his best efforts, he was crumbling back into old habits. The Slug Club party that weekend had proved as much. If he was ever going to get over Evans, he wasn't going to do it while he was within an arms' reach of her.

Remus' eyes gleamed triumphantly, but James was too stubborn to let him win this time. James scowled and then pushed himself to his feet. He groaned loudly, clutching his side.

"Excuse me, Professor," he called. "Can I be excused? I think" – he faked a retch – "I need to see Madam Pomfrey."

Slughorn stared at him. He was certainly looking very pale. James' heart skipped a beat, and he wondered how much convincing it was going to take to get him out of class. He would shove his wand down his own throat if he had to.

Luckily for James, Slughorn was much more focussed on a different pair of students to care whether or not the Head Boy was genuinely ill. Slughorn waved him away, with one last suspicious squint.

"Mr Lupin," Slughorn said, "Would you take Potter's seat with Miss Evans, then? Miss Smith, join this group up the front, please."

Remus obligingly took his seat beside Lily. She quickly turned back around in her seat and composed herself. Remus wasn't going to say anything about it, but it sure did look – at least for a moment there – like Lily had watched James leave in disappointment.

"What was that about?" Lily asked, in her best attempt at nonchalance.

Remus shrugged. "I don't think even _he_ knows at this point."

Across the room, Holly was desperately trying to catch Lily's eye. Lily grinned when she finally noticed, and especially so when she noticed who Holly had been paired with.

"Is Sirius any good at potions?" Lily asked Remus. He looked up in surprise, and stared at the broad-shouldered back of his friend who was slumped over and pointedly not looking at Holly.

"He's not terrible, but I'm pretty sure he only took this class because James and I did," Remus responded.

Holly was giving Lily the biggest, most pitifully pleading eyes Remus had ever seen. Lily had to cover her mouth to hide her laughter.

"Why is she looking at you like that?" Remus asked. "And why are you laughing?"

Lily did her best to compose herself and turned to her desk mate. "The only reason Holly's doing this class is because her dad told her to take every N.E.W.T. level she qualified for."

Remus nodded. "That's pretty sound advice."

"Yes, except for the fact that she hates potions, and the only reason she scraped an Exceeds Expectations in the first place was because she usually sits next to me every class."

"Well, that definitely explains the panic in her eyes," Remus grinned.

With both Remus and Lily now grinning widely at her, Holly huffed, and turned back around, scowling. She would get no help from that table.

Professor Slughorn began the lesson with a short recap on Golpalott's Third Law, and then asked them to brew a poison based on the ingredients used in its antidote; the tricky part would be correctly identifying the antidote.

Fifteen minutes later, on her way back from the store cupboard, Lily noticed the awkward tension seeping off of Holly and Sirius. Sirius – for once – seemed to be invested in his work, but was making no efforts to include Holly in his discoveries as he scribbled silently in his notebook. Holly was desperately flipping back and forth through her copy of _Advanced Potion-Making_, trying to find a recipe that listed the same ingredients as the ones scrawled on the blackboard.

Lily narrowed her eyes at Sirius as she sat down and placed the ingredients she'd retrieved from the store cupboard on the desk. "Does he have to be so cold to her?" She sniffed.

"What?" Remus asked, looking up.

"Sirius."

Remus glanced over to Sirius and Holly and frowned. Lily pulled a knife and board towards her and began slicing perfect pieces of asphodel root. She glared darkly at Sirius's back.

"I honestly don't know what she sees in him. I don't think she's had a proper conversation with him since, like, third year," Lily muttered. She scraped half of the sliced root into a mortar and pestle and began to grind it aggressively into dust.

It wasn't until Sirius shot a gloomy glare over his shoulder at him that Remus realised. He sat back in his chair and exhaled loudly. "Merlin's beard," he breathed, eyes wide. "He's _sulking_."

Lily stopped mashing the root and raised an eyebrow. "What are you talking about?"

Remus leaned over the desk and turned towards Lily so Sirius couldn't read his lips. "It's not Holly. Well – maybe a little. He's been like this since Saturday night, remember how he vanished from the Slug Club?"

Lily nodded slowly, her green eyes watching him carefully.

"He was in bed when the rest of us came back, but he was – well – kind of grouchy. He's been in a mood ever since. And I just realised _why_ –"

"Wait," Lily said, her eyes widening. "Does Sirius like Holly?"

Remus nodded, but before he could say anything else Lily had punched him in the shoulder, hard.

"Ow! What was that for?"

"You idiot!" Lily hissed. "You spent the entire party talking to Holly! You were basically joined at the hip!"

Remus looked like a wounded puppy. "I was trying to be a good wingman…" he mumbled sheepishly.

Lily put her face in her hands. "Really, Remus, I thought you were the clever one." She dropped her hands to the desk and sighed. "How do we convince Sirius that she likes him, and not you?"

Remus frowned. "I thought you didn't like Holly having a crush on him?"

Lily rolled her eyes. "That was before. This is totally different."

While Remus sat and struggled to follow Lily's logic, Lily devised a solution. So simple, yet so _brilliant_. She grinned.

"Wait here," she said, standing up and walking to the store cupboard before a very baffled Remus could protest.

Lily coughed as she walked past Holly and Sirius, causing both of them to look up. She pretended not to notice, and instead spent a few moments rummaging about in the store cupboard before grabbing something random and returning. On her way back, she made sure Sirius was still watching her blankly before she caught Holly's eye and waggled her eyebrows, pointedly flicking her green eyes at Sirius.

Lily stifled a grin as Holly's face turned a rather severe shade of scarlet. Sirius watched the exchange closely, and as Lily sashayed back to her seat, she swore she saw his grey eyes brighten considerably.

She sat back down and scooted her chair in closer. Remus was staring at her with his mouth slightly agape.

"Success," she said, smiling triumphantly. "And now, we wait."

"You're a genius," Remus said, dazed. "An actual, real-life genius."

* * *

****

**A/N: Hey everyone, please drop me a review if you love it but most especially if you hate it because I am here to learn, bby. Thanks for reading this far! **


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